More Parents Seek Therapy for Their Children After Sandy Hook

The massacre in Newtown, Connecticut has raised the consciousness of parents who worry that their children may have violent tendencies, according to a Rochester Hills, Michigan child psychiatrist.

Dr. Joel Young said his phone is ringing off the hook. Since the shootings he has received twice the number of calls he usually does from parents worrying about their children making threats to themselves or threatening others:

We’re getting a lot of calls where people are concerned — is my child a potential perpetrator? Is my child violent? … Families who have children like Adam (Lanza, the Conn. shooter) have to deal with this 24 hours a day for many years without much relief or much sympathy from other people, and yet it’s a nightmare. These children often don’t marry, they don’t integrate into society very well. It is the responsibility of the parents, often the mother, and it is an ongoing challenge.

But Young said parents shouldn’t blame themselves if their young child is troubled: “It’s not a function of bad parenting; it’s luck of the draw.”